Both in and out of sports, there are not many controversial issues in which both sides miss the point.

Such was the case, however, with the recent flap over late kickoffs in Pac-12 Conference football games.

University of Washington coach Chris Petersen got the ball rolling when he apologized to Husky fans for repeated late Saturday night kickoffs dictated by the Pac-12’s television partners.

This drew a heated response from assorted representatives of ESPN, which telecast last Saturday’s UW-California game at Husky Stadium — a contest that kicked off at 7:50 p.m.

Some noted that late-night Pac-12 games drew respectable ratings even on the East Coast, where those contests concluded early Sunday morning. ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit took matters a step further, saying that the nationally ranked Huskies and their fans should thank the network for airing their games at all.

In a naked display of corporate arrogance (not to mention a lack of journalistic professionalism), the ESPN broadcast crew concluded by making several snide references to Petersen and the UW’s admittedly weak non-conference schedule during the telecast.

During one break in the action, the game announcers summoned Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott to the booth to specifically discuss the scheduling issue.

Fielding a series of questions that could be generously described as softball, Scott acknowledged that it was a balancing act weighing the interests of spectators and “student-athletes.” But he quickly and unsurprisingly shoved those parties off the balance beam by proclaiming the conference’s television contracts that allow ESPN and Fox Sports free rein in scheduling late-night contests to be an unqualified success.

They are successful in the sense that lavish payments from the television networks play a huge role in schools funding their athletic programs. But the ticket-buying public, which also plays a role in the financial picture, largely has been forgotten.

Petersen may have apologized to UW fans for the late kickoffs, but he seemed more peeved at the negative impact they might have on the program’s national exposure. Washington State coach Mike Leach, evidently forgetting about the commute time for spectators at Cougar home games, said Monday he was fine with 7:30 kickoffs.

Scott and the broadcasters, meanwhile, appeared to be unaware that the ticket-buying clientele even exists. Particularly those who travel any sort of distance to attend.

Aberdeen or Bellingham residents who opted to make a round trip to and from Husky Stadium last weekend were looking at an ETA back home of approximately 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Few who made that trek were likely to dash off a thank-you note to Kirk Herbstreit before calling it a night.

Among the indignities Pac-12 football spectators face is that they are invariably unaware of the game’s starting time when they purchase the tickets. Those decisions are generally not made until less than two weeks prior to the game.

Imagine scoring advance tickets to a hit Broadway play without knowing whether the curtain will rise at noon or 7:50 p.m.

There is a limited amount of late-season “flex” scheduling in the National Football League. But that type of scheduling is done relatively judiciously and affects the starting times of, at most, two games per week.

If Scott was truly concerned about the plight of spectators, he has the power to craft a compromise in the conference’s next television contracts.

One such method would be to impose restrictions on late Saturday appearances. Fox and ESPN could continue to telecast 7:30 p.m. Pac-12 games. But each school would be limited to two conference home contests (with perhaps an option for an additional non-leaguer) that begin after 5 p.m.

Under this format, the Huskies would be guaranteed a minimum of three Saturday afternoon home games in conference play.

The networks would retain the option of flexing some late-season starting times — provided they didn’t surpass each team’s limits. This would encourage long-range planning on the part of the network programmers. If ESPN wanted to air Washington’s home games with UCLA or Washington State next month in prime time, for example, its representatives might think twice about scheduling the Husky-Cal contest for 7:45.

This type of scheduling would represent a blast from the past.

Until the early 1980s, the NCAA imposed strict limitations (usually two games per season) on each team’s national television appearances.

In retrospect, those limitations were too strict. Coming off a Rose Bowl victory the previous season, the 1960 Huskies had met their television quota by midseason. Incredibly, that meant the season’s Washington-USC conference title showdown transpired without live TV coverage.

Even after winning that game, the Huskies still had to beat Washington State at Spokane’s Joe Albi Stadium to earn a return trip to the Rose Bowl.

Due to public demand, the two schools requested and received permission from the NCAA to cobble together a statewide network to air the contest. The sports anchor from Seattle’s KOMO-TV (who was also a WSU alum) was assigned to handle play-by-play.

The game was a thriller, with the Huskies scoring a touchdown and 2-point conversion in the waning moments for an 8-7 victory. Washington went on to down Minnesota in the 1961 Rose Bowl.

The KOMO broadcaster also made out pretty well on the arrangement. It has long been suspected that the call of that Washington-Washington State game helped inspire ABC executives to hire Keith Jackson a couple of years later.